Thread by @hinduoncampus

THREAD on statement by Rutgers Newark:

https://twitter.com/Rutgers_Newark/status/1369090536573911043

We are deeply hurt by the response of Rutgers Newark. In response to a petition signed by a large number of Hindu students and our allies. Rutgers - a university that claims to pride itself on diversity and inclusion - continues to signal that Hindu student voices do not matter.

To re-iterate: we welcome academic freedom & pursuit of scholarship. We don't welcome a professor tweeting that our deities are misogynist pigs, that our texts endorse rape, & that Hindu orgs supported the assault on the US capitol.

Ironically, the Rutgers statement unintentionally demonstrates their lack of commitment to Hindu students. They defend Truschke’s claims under the banner of "free speech", & take the stance to protect her from Twitter trolls that send “vile messages and threats”.

Tellingly, there is no similar call to protect Hindu students from the equally vile and threatening messages that we’ve received from individuals who are directly enabled by Prof Truschke. We’ve shared countless examples of the hate messages we’ve received, & can share more:

Rutgers continues to ignore the impact that Truschke’s words have on Hindu students. When she labels our deities as “misogynistic pigs” & asserts that our texts endorse rape - Hindu students have to live with the colonial-age myth that Hinduism makes us barbaric & uncivilized.

When Truschke asserts that Hindus took part in the capitol riots merely after seeing the Indian flag, despite evidence to the contrary - she paints a false & dangerous picture of Hindu students, who each have our own political beliefs, as aligned with white supremacy and violence

As Hindu students, we cannot study and live in an environment in which we feel unsafe. How are we supposed to feel safe, when a Professor can block us (a student-run handle) with no prior engagement - yet can continue to tweet at us & energize her followers who call us “dotheads”

If, after all, academic excellence is inseparable from diversity of perspectives and voices, Rutgers would respect the wishes of almost 6,000 individuals who have signed our open letter and shared our concerns.

Rutgers refers to “rigorous” scholarship, but social media of course does not qualify. Most of our examples of Truschke’s bigoted stances come from non-academic OpEd’s and Twitter posts.

Why won’t Rutgers take a stand against the countless examples of bigoted and dangerous insinuations that Truschke makes online, where she enables danger towards Hindu students?

Bad behavior coming from anyone, especially those in authority, must be dealt with fairly. Every religious community deserves this respect, but Rutgers conveniently leaves out their Hindu minority and holds us to a different standard. Why is that? Our voice deserve to be heard.